Second Opinion with Joan Lunden - Season 2

Today, one in five Americans will experience a diagnosable mental health disorder. That adds up to 44 million adults and 4 million children. And yet, it remains under-recognized by primary care doctors. This episode of Second Opinion introduces a panel of medical experts and health care providers, along with the First Lady of New Jersey, Mary Jo Codey, who shares her personal battle with depression. Together they explore the latest trends in diagnosis and treatment of this debilitating disease.

In America, prostate cancer is the most common form of cancer in men, and the second most common cause of cancer deaths in men. But if it's found early enough, it's quite curable. In this episode ofSecond Opinion, you'll learn about how prostate cancer is tested for, diagnosed and treated.

Epilepsy, or recurrent seizures, is one of the most common conditions affecting the brain. About 2.5 million Americans have epilepsy, and 200,000 more people are diagnosed with the disorder every year. However, about 30% of patients referred to epilepsy centers are diagnosed as having non-epileptic attacks. This episode brings a nationally known panel of experts along with former Congressman Tony Coelho, author of the Americans with Disabilities Act, together to discuss the diagnosis, treatment and social stigmas of a diagnosis of epilepsy.

Advertising has become standard practice in much of health care and vision correction appears to be taking the lead.Americans spend nearly $2 billion on vision correction. Providers spend nearly $200 million in advertising. This episode of Second Opinion looks into the ethics of advertising in health care, the rise in corrective vision surgeries across the country and will provide you with information to help you become an informed medical consumer.

A stroke is the interruption of the flow of blood to any part of the brain, which causes damage to brain tissue. Today, some call it a "brain attack" to illustrate its seriousness and its relationship to heart attack (the interruption of blood flow to the heart). In this episode of Second Opinion, you'll learn about the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of stroke.

Eating disorders affect some several million people at any given time, about 90 percent of whom are female. You may associate eating disorders with younger women, but they can also begin or recur later in life. In fact, some research suggests that approximately 79 percent of deaths related to anorexia occur in women over 45 years of age. In this episode, Second Opinion panelists discuss this very complex biological, psychological and cultural problem.

Many Americans are living longer and more active lives. In doing so, they face the possibility that, over time, their major joints – hip, knee, shoulder – will wear out, become painful or cease to function properly. This episode of Second Opinion brings together a panel of orthopaedic experts and health care providers. Together they explore the causes and symptoms of deterioration of major joints, as well as a wide range of treatments including joint replacement.

Need a good reason to get out of your easy chair and into a healthier lifestyle? Then consider the possibility that a lack of physical activity, together with other common health problems, can make you a prime candidate for a potentially life-threatening health condition called metabolic syndrome. In this edition of Second Opinion, you'll learn what metabolic syndrome is, find out about its causes and consequences, and get a handle on steps you can take to protect yourself from life-threatening medical problems.

Women are at risk for heart disease and heart attacks, just like men. While they develop heart problems later in life than men, by about age 65, a woman's risk higher than for a man. This episode of Second Opinion explores ways to prevent, assess risk and diagnose heart disease in women.

If you've never suffered from back pain, chances are you know somebody who does. In the United States, seven out of every ten people will endure back pain at some time in their lives. For a common-sense discussion about an all-too-common ailment, be sure to watch this episode of Second Opinion.

Colon cancer is the third most common type of cancer among American men and in women and is the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths (after lung cancer) in the United States. Learn about how doctors can help you catch it in it's earliest, most curable stage.

Can that warm and fuzzy feeling of the sun bathing your body really come back to haunt you in the form of skin cancer? Absolutely. And for thousands of Americans every year, the cumulative effects of sun exposure result in an untimely death. In this Second Opinion episode, medical experts and skin cancer victims come together to explore the signs, symptoms, and outcomes of this disease and clue you in on simple measures that you and your family can take to significantly reduce your risk.

Between 15 and 20 million Americans – including about 5 million children – have asthma, a chronic disease that makes it difficult to breathe. Asthma attacks can be frightening, even fatal, but they can also be treated and prevented. This episode of Second Opinion looks at the symptoms, causes, and diagnosis of asthma and how modern drug therapy can alleviate its effects.